The Istanbul International Financial Center (IIFC) and the possibilities for the Chambers to function as a hub for this center proved to be an interesting topic of discussion. The IIFC offers numerous interesting business opportunities for European entrepreneurs, due to its easy accessibility and solid infrastructure. The economy of Turkey is defined as an emerging market economy by the IMF. Turkey is among the world’s developed countries according to the CIA World Factbook. Turkey is also defined by economists and political scientists as one of the world’s newly industrialized countries. Therefore, doing business with Turkey can be very profitable and the IIFC can provide the means in this respect.

The IIFC project – which started in 2009 and is currently being developed in Istanbul’s Ataşehir district – has been designed to be one of the world’s major financial centers. This landmark government project aims to build a larger financial center than the existing ones in New York, London and Dubai and also aims to make Istanbul the center of finance internationally. It will create a center designed be the heart of the world financial sector and serve 24/7 as a public hub. With the completion of the project, some 30,000 people will be employed. Constructed on an area of 2.5 million square meters (26.9 million square feet), the IIFC will have 560,000 square meters of office space, 90,000 square meters of shopping mall, 70,000 square meters of hotel, 60,000 square meters of residential space and a culture and congress center with a capacity of 2,000.